Slalom with a CTI brace?

[3mustskiteer]

Curious how many people with acl issues use or have used a CTI while slalom skiing. How it feels, protects during a fall etc.

Long story short I'm 4 weeks heal time into an MCL sprain with acl damage as well. Will be doing acl Reconstruction early Oct. Id like to slalom in the meantime. Its my right knee & i'm RFF. The knee feels stable and strong & even more so with the brace. Ive been able to trick, LFF just fine minus the flips.

[Zman]

@3mustskiteer When I tore my ACL 5 years ago, one option my Doctor gave me was to ski in a knee brace to see if I could "adapt" to life with no ACL in my right knee (front leg).

My knee was quite sloppy, so I declined on that option. Instead, I did about 6 weeks of "pre-hab" to strengthen my leg with much the same exercises I would do post surgery.

I had the ACL hamstring graft surgery mid-October. Starting the following April I got back in the course wearing a DonJoy Defiance knee brace as a precaution. And, since I could hardly tell I was wearing it while skiing, I skied with the brace until early September.

Then, put it away for good. I believe the CTI brace is fairly similar, or at least the one I looked at 5 years ago.

I also had MCL strain, or partial tear, but it was largely healed by the time I had the ACL surgery, 2 months post injury.

I had no intention of skiing before my ACL surgery. Especially after reading in a thread on here, "you don't need your ACL to ski, you need your ACL if you crash". The ACL is the strongest of the 4 major knee ligaments; the other 3 would be at great risk should you crash with no ACL. Food for thought. You might be wiser to focus on pre-surgery rehab. Come back strong next spring.

[LOTW]

Had both, ACL on one knee and PCL on the other, figured I'd need the brace for H2O as it was a huge help for snow skiing and MX. I quickly realized that I didn't need the brace in the water. Can't tell you why just didn't seem to do anything.

[lundberg]

I have no ACL in my left knee (LFF) (old wakeboarding injury). Skied with a custom (townsend design) brace for several years. It is hard on the brace (rust and impact from my back knee). I always wore a full wetsuit or put a neoprene sleeve over the brace to protect my other knee. Eventually I stopped wearing it. I try and keep my leg strong and ski a little "smarter".

[coach3]

I have multilple knee issues including a stretched ACL. My knee is unstable side to side. I have skied with an unloader brace for many years; many brands. I have extra velcro straps to tighten it all and stabilize. it is my front knee and it works well. Without it, my knee flops side to side, Feels like the fin is loose. I good fitting knee brace that has structure below and above is what makes it work.

 

[chrislandy]

I've skied with my CTI2 brace for 20+ years, only had to change the straps and pads once when they wore out. Doesn't impact in any negative way and still works as well as the day I picked it up

[VONMAN]

Back in 1992 I was footing, doing a tumble turns and stretched my right knee. Didn't know how bad till the next day and couldn't walk on it. Went to the doctor and I got a prescription for a custom full leg/knee brace. Walked in on crutches and walked out with the brace on! Miracle! It went from ankle to crotch, with pins in the pivot point to restrict full motion. But I could walk pain free! So the Doctor didn't say I couldn't ski. (didn't really ask) Out to the lake I went, deep ups no problem and skiing the course no problem. Wife was mad at first and the Doctor was impressed with my six week rehab. In the end he figured out what I was doing and said I was lucky. My ski partner at the time Dave took a picture and made a T-shirt of me skiing and I still have the shirt. @Horton straight leg skiing can be fun.

 

[customski]

Skied with a Cti brace for probably 2 years after an Acl Recon. 3 months after was too soon but from 4 months on I managed.

[LZywicki1]

I've been skiing with a CTI brace for 10+ years now without any issues. Front knee doesn't have much after a dislocated it wakeboarding.